Hopeful Alternatives
by Awareness Bringer
Summary: Six-part challenge of Naruto becoming a ninja in a different village than the Leaf. Partially inspired by AlphaMike369's Runaways stories.
1. Hidden Cloud Village

**As you may have noticed from reading my profile, I listed Mcrabbidrabbit of FFN as the one who had upheld my six-part challenge about Naruto becoming a ninja in either the Sound, Rain, Mist, Stone, Sand, or Cloud Villages instead of the Leaf similar to AlphaMike369's Runaways stories, but centered on Naruto instead of both him and Hinata. While I was intrigued that they decided to do all six villages in one story, Ash and dust, they haven't continued it lately, and considering the two Naruto stories that got my attention of them were deleted by themselves, I can't help but worry. Therefore, after thinking it over recently, I decided to share my ideas for what I figured each plotline could entail and see how many and which writers would be interested. It works on occasion for mellra, after all.**

 **For the sake of simplicity, I'll be using English TV names for places, Jutsus, and the like, as well as make one chapter for each village during Part 1 before calling them all up for grabs. I wouldn't mind making my own full Naruto stories, but I'm quite busy as is, and I want to see how others do their best. Now, before we begin, I'd like to share some guidelines for those who would like to write about these concepts which, while not entirely necessary, would be appreciated if they were at least considered. Oh, and I a disclaimer as well.**

 **No unnecessary bashing: seeing characters grow up and show hidden strengths is all good until it looks like the writer is purposefully making the character in question look like an unlikable nuisance at best and a complete villain at worst. Trust me, it's best to show both the positives and negatives of those in a story. I know it might not be easy for those that didn't get along with the protagonist much (Sakura), took a bad turn and had a long time becoming redeemable (Sasuke), or just didn't have enough character building moments to make a plausible relationship (Hinata), but giving them the benefit of the doubt would be a fair sign.**

 **No slash: I try not to judge people who have different "bonding" preferences compared to mine, but I really don't think that characters that weren't listed as canonically yaoi in nature should be depicted as such. Not that I like gender bending much either.** **Therefore, assuming there will be pairings for Naruto, make them female and, even if not, prevent that accursed scene from episode 3 of the original anime!**

 **Keep the Gender Bending Jutsu of Naruto's at the down low: as I said before, it's not my thing. If you want to use it to distract people, that's fine, just as long as you don't make a big deal about it or have Naruto in the above position.**

 **Keep the content at a controlled level: meaning that it's probably best to be mindful of which direction the story/stories will go. I like straight lemons as much as the next fellow, but given how things all are iffy on certain websites like FFN, it would probably be wise to just walk first before jumping.**

 **Try to be flexible with the story: for reasons I'm sure you all could understand, I'm strongly in favor of Naruto and those around his age from Sakura to Gaara being aged up from the start of Part 1, not necessarily to adult levels, like twenty and over, but mid to late teens. It's kind of hard to imagine that a bunch of preteens, fictional though they maybe, would have some inclinations for relationships, perversions, and all that kind of stuff before puberty, if you know what I mean. Granted, I have autism, but other than a few stupid crushes I made up for boredom's sake, I don't remember getting super interested in kissing and above until after elementary. Also, while I am a huge harem fan, please keep whatever pairing(s) you do at a nice and realistic pace, especially if Naruto somehow scores Mei Terumi for example.**

 **Maybe make some cover identities for Naruto in each village: AlphaMike369's names aren't bad and it does make sense for him to do that, especially if they fit his setting in each variation. I'll do some of my own here as a start, but it will be up to you rather you want it or not.**

 **Don't shy away from asking me for advice or beta reading: however, I won't dictate your execution as it should ultimately be your decision. I'm doing fine with it so far with digemsmack over his Fairy Tail story which I gave my patronage for, Ascension of the Second Apocalypse.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the Naruto franchise or it's related concepts and characters, but Masashi Kishimoto and his affiliates do.**

 **[HA]**

 **Hopeful Alternatives**

 **[HA]**

 **Kōfun Uzumaki of the Hidden Cloud Village**

 **[HA]**

'I guess I shouldn't fault the Raikage for sending me back here after all.' The young Cloud genin, Kōfun Uzumaki, thought with eagerness as he saw the crowd forming into the Leaf Village's arena.

It was the Chūnin Exams' finals, which meant he and the other finalists would have to participate in a tournament of one-on-one battles to prove themselves to attending Feudal Lords among other observers that they were prepared for the trials of having the chūnin ninja rank. However, as excited as he was to potentially be promoted, Kōfun was not blind to the danger of being discovered as the Leaf Village's former jinchūriki for the Nine-Tails. He had to be cautious, or things would go downhill from there. As the matches had yet to start, the Raikage called for Kōfun and the other Cloud jinchūriki for a private meeting.

Upon making sure the nearby room they requested was protected from spies and the like, the Fourth Raikage of the Cloud Village, a serious man referred to as A like his predecessors before him, turned to his adopted brother, Killer Bee, the jōnin, Yugito Nii, and Kōfun, with a look of anxiety, but was apologetic all the same.

"Yugito, Kōfun." He began with acknowledging their arrival. "I apologize for how abrupt this is, but Bee and the Eight-Tails had a certain discovery that they felt had to be shared with us."

"Uh, what kind of discovery, Lord Raikage?" Kōfun asked uncertainly.

"It must be pretty important, right?" Inquired Yugito with an eyebrow raised.

When A nodded his head as a sign of confirmation, Bee began. "It's bit hard to explain, but I must tell you that what Lord Eight-Tails saw was not of this mortal plane."

The other three Cloud shinobi couldn't help but groan at Bee's infamous form of rap, but allowed him to carry on.

"When Lord Eight-Tails, through my eyes, saw the Kazekage arriving here like the stuff of old stories, it struck a few of his memories."

"What sort of memories, Bee?" Yugito asked.

Bee's look turned serious. "What is here on the rise I fear has to do with Blue B's demise."

That sentence captured Kōfun's attention as much as the rest. Blue B was A's cousin and Bee's predecessor as the jinchūriki of the Eight-Tails who was tragically killed alongside eight other Cloud ninja decades in the past when he lost control of his power.

"Rasa had something to do with my cousin's downfall?" A asked through clenched teeth in barely restrained anger.

Bee shook his head. "Rasa isn't at fault for it is Orochimaru who planned the result."

"Orochimaru?" Kōfun said at last in shock, Yugito and A not faring any better either.

"That madman of a snake disguised himself as the Kazekage?" Yugito wondered to her three fellows.

"But what is he doing here?" Asked Kōfun in confusion.

"Never mind that." A said at last. "What did Orochimaru do to Blue B that made him lose control?"

"The snake gave Blue B genjutsu pills as his doctor which led to the poor guy becoming a destructor." Explained Bee.

"And I take it the genjutsu was strong enough to block the Eight-Tails memories of what happened?" Yugito guessed which Bee nodded at.

"But why did he do it?" Kōfun asked.

"Probably one of his twisted experiments." Replied A. "What matters now is what do we do with him."

Kōfun looked at him unsure. "Can we do something at all without causing an international incident?"

"He's got a point, Lord Raikage." Said Yugito.

"Perhaps it's best that we don't treat the old man Hokage like a pest." Suggested Bee. "An alliance to manufacture could lead to Orochimaru's capture."

"And then we execute him together?" A asked for confirmation which Bee confirmed with a nod before noticing Kōfun wanting to add his own idea.

"Uh, actually, Lord Raikage, as much as it pains me to say it, I'm leaning towards keeping the snake guy in our custody."

"For what purpose?" A inquired seriously.

Kōfun gestured for understanding. "Not to torture him to death, or make him one of us. But I believe we can make use of his scientific and espionage knowledge for the good of the Cloud Village as well as the Land of Lightning so long as he's under our own tight guards. As the economically strongest nation with one of the strongest militaries, Orochimaru would be an extremely useful asset to us."

Before Bee could protest, A held up his hand for quiet and turned to Yugito.

"I see both points of view, but it's ultimately your decision, Lord Raikage." She said calmly.

A nodded in thanks before his look turned serious once more. "We have some time before the matches. I'll give you all my answer before then. Nonetheless, be prepared for anything that comes your way."

"You got it, Lord Raikage." Said Kōfun as the other two Cloud ninja bowed their heads loyally.

"And Kōfun?" A called out just before he left with his fellow jinchūriki. "While I haven't exactly been swayed to your line of thought yet, I do approve that being pragmatic in your thinking." He turned to the young genin with a small, yet recognizable, smile. "A fine Raikage, you may yet be."

Kōfun beamed at the praise and bowed. "Thanks, Lord Raikage. If I'm going to be your successor, it makes sense that I do some accomplishments to be remembered for. And I've chosen that invention and innovation will be the key to getting us up top over the other nations." He then turned to the exit. "I'll be sure to make the Cloud, Lord Raikage. Just wait and see."

A kept his smiled then exhaled in relief, grateful that the fools of the Leaf didn't recognize his secret trump card was meant to be one of their own.

 **[HA]**

 **A bit short, I know, but it's about as good as I could think of, and I wanted to leave some things to the imagination of any takers, so long as it's not too gruesome. There will be five more parts to come, as I'm sure you already know. Each part will be at a certain point of Part 1 from before the Sound-Sand Invasion of the Leaf Village. Just let me know if anyone is interested.**

 **For these different village ideas, I wanted Naruto to have a different goal in each village when he becomes that village's Kage. And for Cloud, I would like to see him have a desire to make a technological revolution in the Naruto World for the Land of Lightning's benefit. We've seen as early as Part 1 that there is a movie industry followed by an Orochimaru-built robot version of Naruto in Part 2 and video games in the New Era of Boruto. And yes, for Naruto and Dragon Ball, I include the anime filler stuff in that universes as well, but not in One Piece and Fairy Tail.**

 **Anyway, I hope you all will find these interesting, inspiring, and give me a personal message should any of you would like to write about it. Thanks.**


	2. Hidden Mist Village

**[HA]**

 **Takeshi Uzumaki of the Hidden Mist Village**

 **[HA]**

In the woodlands of the Land of Fire, four ninjas from the Land of Water's Hidden Mist Village had made rest to go over their plans for the Land of Waves mission. Each of the four were males attired with mouth guards and masks to better protect themselves one way or another. They were known in their home village as the Demon Brothers, Gōzu and Meizu, the student of one of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist, Haku, and Takeshi Uzumaki, who had acquainted himself with numerous affiliations within the Mist Village, despite being young genin born outside the village itself.

"Alright, guys." Meizu spoke up first to get his comrades' attention. "As Zabuza and Mei told us, the plan is simple. While Zabuza "helps" that walking slime Gatō in preparing for the old bridge builder, Takeshi will be "cooperating" with the incoming Leaf ninja to take down some "rogue ninja", while the rest of us do everything we can to swipe Gatō for all he's worth. Money, business deeds, it makes no difference. Hopefully any value we'll get from his company and the Land of Waves will be useful in persuading our Feudal Lord in removing Yagura from the Mizukage job."

Haku, Takeshi, and Gōzu nodded knowingly. While Zabuza Momochi and Mei Terumi's plan to peacefully resolve the civil war was not without its complications, considering the fickleness of Feudal Lord politics, it was still the best shot of ending Yagura's tyranny sooner rather than later.

"You don't have to worry, people." Said Takeshi with determination. "I learned a lot from Mei Sensei and Zabuza in how to use bothersome saps, like the ones from the Leaf Village, to my advantage. We'll get this done right, no matter what."

Underneath the masks and mouth guards, his companions smiled confidently.

"Alright then." Gōzu said with focus. "The pawns should be closing in as we speak. Meizu and I will attack first, you boys apprehend us, and then we'll part ways for the moment."

The Demon Brothers traded nods with the younger ninja before making their first move, leaving Haku and Takeshi to mull over their thoughts while getting ready.

"You sure you're ready for this, Takeshi?" Haku asked his friend in concern. "It has been a long time since you encountered Leaf Villagers and ninja."

Takeshi gritted his teeth in slight anger, but replied to Haku in a calm tone. "You don't have to worry, Haku. My home is the Mist Village, and I promised myself that I would get it back in order, regardless if it's before or after I become Mizukage."

Haku nodded in a pleased manner. "Then let us move forward, my friend."

 **[HA]**

 **A bit short, but it's the best I could describe. I hope you all got the points I wanted to convey. Basically, with Naruto as a Mist Shinobi, Zabuza holds his assassination attempt that got him kicked out in canon for a bit, allies himself with Mei's faction, and they plan to remove Yagura from his position by "convincing" the Feudal Lord of the Land of Water with Gatō's fortune and contacts that would be useful for the country's economy. You can add in Utakata for good measure, if you want, as well.**

 **Good luck.**


	3. Hidden Stone Village

**[HA]**

 **Ryota Uzumaki of the Hidden Stone Village**

 **[HA]**

In the Hidden Stone Village, the Third Tsuchikage, Ohnoki, had called for numerous ninjas from his village to attention as he laid out orders.

"My people, I bring great news from our spies in our enemy nations." Ohnoki said with confident enthusiasm. "The Sand and Sound Villages are preparing to attack the Leaf in the upcoming Chūnin Exams. And it is a situation I believe we should all take advantage of."

The ninja gathered, who disliked the outside villages, murmured in excitement.

Pleased to see the reaction, Ohnoki continued. "In order for this to work, I have sent a request to my Hokage counterpart to allow one of our genin teams to participate, so that we will know when to strike when the time is right."

The meeting carried on until Ohnoki picked Ryota Uzumaki's team to carry out the undercover assignment. By the time it had concluded, Ohnoki called Ryota himself for a private conversation. Once they were alone, Ohnoki looked upon the youth with a stern expression that softened somewhat when he began to talk.

"Ryota, I apologize that I have to send you back to the Leaf Village, but I can assure you, it won't last long, and it's for the good of the Stone Village, so I must ask for your cooperation and patience."

Ryota showed a small smile at Ohnoki's sincerity and spoke reassuringly. "You don't have to worry, Lord Tsuchikage, I won't let you down."

 **[HA]**

 **Shorter, but it was the best I could manage. I know I said way back that I would like to see Naruto having a unique goal when he becomes the Kage of a different village, but I guess goals are quite interchangeable, whether it be revenge, respect, peace, war, conquest, and whatever else I can't think of at the moment. You get the idea. Thanks for reading.**


	4. Hidden Sand Village

**[HA]**

 **Daisuke Uzumaki of the Hidden Sand Village**

 **[HA]**

At the Hidden Sand Village, within the Kazekage's office building, Daisuke Uzumaki had been told alongside the team consisting of his fellow jinchūriki and his siblings that they were to participate in the Leaf Village-held Chūnin Exams in order to prepare for an attack on it alongside ninja from the Sound Village. Although Daisuke hadn't parted ways with the village of his birth on the best of terms, he nonetheless was conflicted. While he was a proud ninja of the Sand Village, he wasn't exactly keen in wiping out a whole village, even the place that had once scorned him, all because of an economic issue. A dilemma that Gaara hadn't unnoticed.

"Daisuke, it would be best not to feel torn between one village or the other." He warned once they were alone.

Daisuke frowned, but nodded in agreement. "Hope for the best and prepare for the worst, right?" He asked rhetorically.

Gaara answered with a satisfied nod. "We must be ready for whatever develops. I trust you'll remain by our side?"

Daisuke narrowed his eyes. "Absolutely."

 **[HA]**

 **I hope you all at least get the idea of why I'm writing these.**


	5. Hidden Sound Village

**[HA]**

 **Eiji Uzumaki of the Hidden Sound Village**

 **[HA]**

Within the territory of the Land of Fire, a ninja from the Hidden Sound Village named Eiji Uzumaki stood over the withered, gasping, elderly form of the traitorous Leaf Village chūnin, Mizuki. The Leaf's fabled Scroll of Sealing was held around Eiji's back, and seeing that he and Mizuki were the only ones around at the moment, he began to chuckle at Mizuki's helplessness brought upon by his selfish lust for glory.

"It's not that funny, brat." Mizuki forced himself to say to Eiji, who took a break from his amusement to scowl at him.

"It serves you right, you worthless piece of scum. It's garbage like you that drove me out of the Leaf Village in the first place."

Mizuki looked astonished. "You were a Leaf ninja?"

Smirking, Eiji decided to reveal himself. "Of course. I wasn't always Eiji Uzumaki, after all."

Hearing his double-crosser's surname for the first time, Mizuki looked upon Eiji with hatred and even fear. "The Demon… you live."

Eiji's scowl returned with a savage vengeance. "And you don't."

He then put Mizuki out of his misery and walked away to the Sound Village.

 **[HA]**

 **I have understandably mixed feelings about a protagonist being reimagined as evil, but I do like the darker stuff, if played right. And let's be honest when we talk about Mizuki. He's a bastard who brought his problems on himself. Anyway, if Naruto ever desired to become Orochimaru's successor, I can imagine him starting a Second Warring States Period in order to create a Social Darwinist world under his control, but that's just what I think.**

 **One more to go and I can look to other projects.**


	6. Hidden Rain Village

**[HA]**

 **Akio Uzumaki of the Hidden Rain Village**

 **[HA]**

At the tallest tower in the Hidden Rain Village, a young ninja named Akio Uzumaki bowed in the presence of the Rain Village's leader who also lead the Akatsuki organization, Pain.

"I trust that you are well prepared, Akio." Pain said to the genin in front of him. "Getting seen by our enemies is not an option."

"Understood, Sir." Replied Akio. "I shall integrate myself into the Chūnin Exams and keep my eyes on the Sound ninjas and the Sand Village's jinchūriki."

Pain nodded in approval. "Excellent, even if we do not capture Gaara, we will observe how strong he and Orochimaru's forces are."

"By the training I have been taking within this village and under you, I have no intention of failing." Akio affirmed with a grin.

Pain raised his hand as a sign for Akio to rise up. "You have been well-trained, Akio. Serve us all proud, so that we may move onward to peace."

 **[HA]**

 **And, as Bugs Bunny says, that's the end. I know I became a bit brief with my writing these, but I hope you all got the point I was trying to get across. I can definitely imagine Naruto trying to bring peace through whatever way applicable, even if it means looking for a way to end the usage of chakra, considering people use such abilities for offensive measures. Thanks for reading.**


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